Norton City Council met Oct. 15 and approved an ordinance to amend the hourly wages for part-time police officers.

The wage increase was approved with a vote of 6-0, with Councilman Scott Pelot (at large) not present.

According to Council Clerk Karla Richards, the last time Council raised wages for part-time police officers was in 2010.

The new wages, according to Richards, will be based on the following scale: Officers with less than one year of completed service will be paid $15 an hour; officers with at least one year of service will be paid $17.50 an hour; officers with at least 10 years of service will be paid $18.50 an hour; and officers with 15 or more years of service will be paid $20 an hour.

The new wages will take effect retroactively from Jan. 5, and will remain in effect until further action is taken by the Council.

According to Richards, the passing of this ordinance repeals the previous ordinance and wages. All officers employed by Norton will now be paid based on the new scale.

Council members also heard first readings of two ordinances regarding increasing salaries for the Council clerk and the administrative assistant for the city. Both were listed on the agenda as emergency items, meaning that only one reading would occur before Council took a vote, but Mayor Mike Zita asked Council to not remove the second and third readings of these ordinances so further discussion could be held before they are voted on.

According to documents provided by Richards, if approved, the Council clerk’s annual salary would be increased to $46,160, and the administrative assistant’s salary would increase to $39,160 a year.

Both increases would take effect retroactively Jan. 1.

In other business, Council:

approved resolutions amending the percentage for mandatory contributions by Norton Fire Department employees and Norton Police Department employees who are members of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund with a vote of 6-0. Previously, 10 percent of the earnings of participating individuals was deducted into this fund. With the passage of this resolution, 10.75 percent will be placed into the fund retroactive to July 6 through July 4, 2014; 11.5 percent will be taken out effective July 5, 2014, through July 3, 2015; and 12.25 percent will be taken out July 4, 2015 and thereafter; and

approved an ordinance authorizing the mayor or his designee to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation allowing them to work on Interstate 76 as needed with a vote of 6-0. This is something the Council passes on a regular basis, according to city officials.

Council next will meet for a work session Oct. 21 and for its regular meeting Oct. 28, both at 7 p.m., in Council Chambers at the Safety-Administration Building, 4060 Columbia Woods Drive.